Fr. Dr. Jose A. Burgos (1837-1872) is a name always associated with Fathers Jacinto Zamora and Mariano Gomez. In 1872 the three priests, together with the snitch who testified falsely against them, were executed by garrote at the Luneta, in a spot close to the Rizal monument. Thus has the term “Gomburza” been burned into the minds of Filipino schoolchildren.

We know very little about Gomburza before their necks were broken, but Burgos seems to have been the most promising of the trio due to his intellectual gifts. It is said that Burgos was not far behind Jose Rizal, who left scholars with 25 volumes of writings. Burgos was a doctor twice over (he was at work on his third doctorate at the time of his execution), with a wider area of specialization: He wrote beyond theology and philosophy.

So where are the originals of these Burgos works today? Why aren’t they translated from the original Spanish and made available to a 21st-century audience?

As of 1959 there were 44 known works of Burgos, 12 of which were in manuscripts and preserved in the Luis Ma. Araneta collection in Manila. Only two have seen print: “La Loba Negra” and “Mare Magnum.” The first listing of Burgos’ work is to be found in a 1938 publication of “La Loba Negra,” a historical novel allegedly written by him in 1869 based on a true story culled from primary-source documents. Translated from the original Spanish as “Black She-wolf” (1970), it has since been exposed as a 20th-century forgery by Jose E. Marco. Nevertheless, it has taken on a life of its own, being reset into a prize-winning play by Virginia Moreno, “Onyx Wolf” (1969), which was recently recast into dance by Myra Beltran as “Itim Asu” (2010).

The list is very impressive, but did anyone notice a few red flags? Most obvious is that Rizal, who was born on June 19, 1861, “annotated” one of Burgos’ manuscripts in 1860-1861! These works of Burgos are all fake, made in the 20th century by a warped genius named Jose E. Marco from Negros. Where to find the real Father

Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines.

Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of INQUIRER.net. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.

Mon Sparks

Has anyone written a bio of Jose E. Marco? He seems to be a highly fascinating character.

nes911

Was j. Marco the same fellow who penned the code of kalantiaw? He must really be a genius to be able to forge all those manuscripts and letting us to believe that they are genuine for decades.

ConnieLee90

Another hoax, after Kalantiaw. And all perpetrated by the same man. How could these have escaped detection by our eminent historians? The ironic thing was that it took the discerning eyes of two Americans to debunk these hoaxes. William Scott uncovered the Kalantiaw hoax, while John Schumacher exposed the forgeries attributed to Fr. Burgos. We’ve been duped and taken in for the ride. Mr. Jose E. Marco was quite a character.

George Briones

Sir, do you find parallels in the (mis)fortunes of Nur Misuari and Andres Bonifacio? Both were beaten in elections of the revolutionary groups that they founded. We know what happened to Bonifacio while Misuari still has to write finis to his story.

Cue_Vas

Add an “s” after the forger’s surname and you get quite another character altogether.

markus32

Where to find the real Father Burgos? From what i know when i was young, their resting place inside PACO park lies near a comfort room :-) Bayad piso.. ihi.. :-)